Evaluating the distributional effects of fiscal policies using quantile regressions

The objective of this paper is to propose and apply a new method to evaluate the distributional impact of fiscal policies and potential marginal reforms. The econometric tool adopted is structural quantile treatment effects regression, which allows a complete picture of the effects of the fiscal policy of interest on households with different incomes, abilities, and needs. We apply this method to personal income taxation and non-cash transfers in Italy for the year 2004. Our estimates suggest that, although heterogeneous, the redistributive effects of the potential fiscal reforms are almost zero.